Boot boat



March 10, 1942. J. w. MEYERs y 2,276,032

Booz` BOAT Filed sept. 19, 1940 2 snee'ts-sheet 1 351'; g 1 wem/EM March l0, 1942. J. w. `Ml-:YERS

BOOT BOAT Filed Sept. 19, 1940 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 gwoon/vbo@ .L W Matz/ers advantageous points which Patented Mar. 10, 1942 `UNlrlzD sTArggEs PAT'EN r* OFFICE' BOOT BOAT Joe W. Meyers, Weleetka, Okla.. v Application september 19, 1940, seria1No.3'57,4eo

1 Claim.

This invention relates to a novel exible, waterproof garment adapted to be Worn by fishermen in lieu of hip bootsor waders to provide a device for use in fishing streams, small lakes -or near the shore of large lakes to keep the fisherman dry and to provide means whereby he may oat and propel himself through deep water to would be impossible to reach if equippedv only with boots or Waders.

`More particularly, it is an aim of the invention to provide a garment having a buoyant portion intermediate of its top and bottom and by means of which the wearer may be maintained afloat and in an upright position and remain dry due to the fact that the waterproof garment eX- tends above the buoyant portion vthereof and above the level of the water line of the garment when afloat and while supporting the wearer.

Still another aim of the invention is to provide a device of the character previously described having exible nn like members attached to the leg portions of the garment and by means of which the wearer can propel himself, while in an upright position, through deep water by back and forth motions of the legs.

Still another aim of the invention is to provide a buoyant shermans garment including an iniiatable tube for rendering the garment buoyant and a casing for said tube attached to the body portion of the garment and provided with means for detachably mounting the innatable tube therein so that the tube may be removed and the garment folded or rolled into a bundle that will occupy a relatively small space comparable to the space occupied by hip boots when stored.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will hereinafter become more fully apparent from the following description of the drawings, which illustrate a preferred embodiment thereof, and wherein:

Figure 1 is a front elevationalview of the garment,

Figure 2 is a fragmentary side elevational view of the lower portion of the outer side of one of the boots showing the n like propelling member,

Figure 3 is a top plan view of the boot boat,

Figure 4 is a fragmentary vertical sectional View taken substantially along the plane of the line 4-4 of Figure 3,

Figure 5 is a fragmentary vertical sectional view taken substantially along the plane of the line 5-5 of Figure 3 and Figure 6 is an enlarged fragmentary vertical sectional view taken substantially along of the line 6 6 of Figure 1.

Referring more particularly to the drawings, wherein like reference characters designate like or corresponding parts throughout the diiferent views, I0 designates generally the boot boat which includes a garment II of flexible, waterproof material having an upper, body portion I 2 which is open at its upper end and having boot portions I3 which are formed integral with the lower end of the body portion I2 and which are adapted to enclose the feet and legs of the wearer. The upper, open end I4 of the body portion I2 is adapted to extend up to beneath the armpits of the wearer and said upper end I4, as best seen in Figure 6, is provided with a fold or seam I5 on its inner side through which extends a drawstring I6, the ends of which project outwardly through the front portion of the body portion I2 for drawing the open end I4 tight about the chest of the wearer. A pair of shoulder straps or Suspenders I 'I are detachably connected to the end I4 of the garment I I by means of detachable fastenings such as the buttons I8. The suspenders or shoulder straps I1 are adapted to be disposed over the shoulders of the wearer for supporting the garment II in the position, previously described.

An annular, tubular casing I9 of a exible fabric material is disposed around the body portion I2, intermediate of its ends and attached thereto in any suitable manner, as by means of stitching, as indicated at 20. |Ihe tubular casing I9 is open at its top at 2I throughout its length to provide means whereby an annular inatable tube 22 may be removably mounted therein. The tube 22 is provided with a conventional valve 23 which projects outwardly through tan opening in the casing I9. Casing I9, along one side of the opening 2I, is provided with hooks 24 and along the opposite side thereof is provided with loops 25 which are arranged and positioned for engaging the hooks 24 for detachably retaining the casing I9 in a closed position, as illustrated in Figures 3 and 4, for retaining the inflatable tube 22 therewithin.

'I'he leg portions of the boots I3 on their outer sides are provided with n like members 26, each of which includes an elongated strip the ends of which are suitably secured to the leg portions of the bootsvIS. The secured ends 2'I of the strip converge toward the forward edge thereof to form a free intermediate portion 28 which is not directly attached to the leg portions of the boots I 3 and which diverges in width and is ared from the plane the forward edge to the rear edge of the strip to provide with the leg portion of the boot I3, with which it is associated, a ared rearwardly opening pocket for a purpose which will hereinafter be described.

From the foregoing it will be seen that when the boot boat I is positioned on the body of the wearer it will be supported by the Suspenders or shoulder straps I1 and the inflatable tube 22 will be disposed around the body of the wearer adjacent the waist. Assuming that the tube 22 is inflated, the boot boat I0 will permit the wearer to Wade in streams, small lakes, and along the shores of larger lakes without becoming wet and to wade into deeper water which, when it reaches a point above the waist of the wearer will buoyantly support'l the fisherman due to the fact that the buoyant inflatable tube 22 will be submerged or partly submerged. This will enable the iisherman to float in an upright position and still keep dry due to the fact that the body portion I2 eX- tends well above thel buoyant tube 22. By a back and forth kicking movement of the legs, the wearer may propel himself through deep water due to the fact thai'l the n like members 26 will function similarly to ns with the portions 28 thereof opening on the back kick of the legs to form pockets for engaging and resisting the Water to move the body portion forward, and on the forward kick of the legs the portions 28 will fold in against the legs of the boots I3 so as to offer little or no resistance to the water. In this way the fisherman may propelhimself through deep water to shoals or bars where he may be able to iish more advantageously and which would otherwise not be accessible. Fishing in shallower water, the wearer may crouchslightly so that the tube 22 will be partly submerged to thereby partially support the sherman in addition to supporting the weight of the garment II. The boot boat I0, as previously mentioned, will hold the wearer in an upright position and will therefore tend to prevent the fisherman from falling should he trip or stumble over submerged objects due to the fact that when the tube 22 strikes the water and is submerged it will prevent the wearer from falling further and thereby prevent him from getting wet and possibly losing or damaging the fishing equipment which he is carrying.

When the boot boat II) is not in use the tube 22 `is deated and removed from the casing I9 by detaching the loops 25 from the hooks 24 after which the garment I I can be rolled or folded and will occupy a space substantially of the same size as a pair of hip boots or Waders.

Various modifications and changes are contemplated and may obviously be resorted to as only a preferred embodiment of the invention has been disclosed.

I claim as my invention:

In combination with a wading garment for use by fishermen and including leg and body encasing portions and buoyant means disposed adjacent the waist for supporting the wearer afloat, propelling fins attached to the outer sides of the leg'portions of the garment, said fins each including an elongated flexible strip disposed longitudinally of a leg portion and having end portions secured thereto, said strips each having an unattached intermediate portion, said intermediate portion being flared toward its back edge and ared outwardly relatively to the leg portion, and said intermediate portion combining with the leg portion, with which it is associated, to form a rearwardly diverging rearwardly opening pocket.

JOE W. MEYERS. 

